Carr says licensed and original SVOD are just parts of the digital entertainment and shopping megamall Amazon continues to build. “A lot of our value creation goes beyond the role of an aggregator,” he says. “Happily, every household in America has to buy things, and almost every household in America loves to watch TV.”

Amazon’s SVOD is tied to Prime, which for $99 per year gives members free shipping on millions of products, plus unlimited streaming video. Carr doesn’t expect to split video from that bundle, and says Prime Instant Video is increasingly a main reason people subscribe: “Having these things together gives us something that is unique in the customer value proposition.”

The company will continue to be “methodical and thoughtful” about growing its 40,000-plus U.S. movie and TV show SVOD lineup in the U.S., Carr says. “We’re focused on differentiating our service against all services out there, whether that’s Netflix or even other premium channels,” he says.

It was important for Amazon to offer the device because “it is the single best instantiation of how a customer can enjoy Prime Instant Video in the living room,” Carr says, with features like fast streaming start times and voice-enabled search. “The goal is not to make money selling the device; it’s to make money selling services.” Amazon’s digital media services are available through many other devices “but the simple reality is, we are not 100% responsible for those things,” Carr notes.

At the same time, the $99 Fire TV offers a wide variety of other services, including Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu and Sony’s Crackle. “Who would want a device that only offers our TV shows and movies?” Carr asks rhetorically.

Amazon has been rumored to be exploring a free, ad-supported video service and unlimited music-streaming, possibly as part of Prime. Carr is mum on future plans, but says the Prime program could grow and change just as Amazon itself — once thought to be only a place to order books — is now an all-purpose retailer. “I suspect Prime will have a similar evolution, to become something even more interesting,” he says.

Today, Amazon has 25-plus million U.S. Prime members, and with the HBO deal and other new content may rise to as many as 50 million in the new few years — and erode Netflix’s subscriber base, according to a report by Bernstein Research. A number of Prime subscribers “may decide they don’t need Netflix, either for their children (as Amazon children’s content improves) or for themselves as they find enough content within Prime Video,” the analyst firm says.

But Carr, a 15-year Amazon vet, believes time is on his side. He says the company has an advantage in making decisions about what shows to greenlight or license for SVOD, because of its vast storehouse of data on what Amazon’s millions of customers buy and watch.

“We have the broadest selection on an (electronic sell-through) and SVOD basis,” he says. “We want to offer customers either things we know they want — or innovate on their behalf, for things we believe they will want.”

Amazon are in video media for the long haul with Bill leading the charge – it’s just a matter of time before they figure out the combination of data, insights, content and leadership that gets them to the top of the game.